


Here With Me

by I_write_things_sometimes



Series: Together [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Bucky Barnes & Steve Rogers Friendship, Bucky Barnes & Tony Stark Friendship, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Remembers, Bucky Barnes Returns, Established Relationship, M/M, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-01
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-03-20 02:42:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18983584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_write_things_sometimes/pseuds/I_write_things_sometimes
Summary: Bucky shows up at the tower unannounced. Tony is there to receive him."Tony appraised Barnes silently. So. They’d been underestimating him. He’d been leading Sam and Steve across Europe for nearly two months straight, and clearly that remarkable feat hadn’t been the least bit difficult for him. No one had a shot at getting close to him unless he intended to be found. So that was… just great. Fantastic.Barnes watched the realization play out on Tony’s face and smirked. It didn’t touch his eyes.“Bucky Barnes,” he said with a slow, careful wave of his non-metal hand. “International assassin. And a pretty successful one at that.”"Part 2 of the Together series, but could potentially be read as a stand-alone fic.





	1. I’m asking you, not him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, and hello again if you're joining me for part two of this series!
> 
> I'm so happy to be able to share this with you all. If you've read "I like me better" then I can tell you this occurs almost immediately after that fic ends. It's set some point in June 2014 and you pretty much know the rest ;). Thanks so much for sticking with me on this. I love you all!
> 
> If you're new to this verse — welcome! I'm so happy you're here and I hope you enjoy my writing.
> 
> I can even give you a quick rundown of what you've missed if you don't feel like reading it all: This story picks up in June 2014, but Steve and Tony have been together since July 2013. I had the events of Winter Soldier taking place in April 2014.
> 
> Steve has been off looking for Bucky and taking out HYDRA ever since, but he's still very much with and devoted to Tony (reading the last two chapters of "I like me better" might help explain this in-depth). But the most important things to know are that Steve and Tony love each other very much and Steve *has* told Tony that HYDRA used the Winter Soldier to kill his parents. So consider Civil War entirely avoided. And please enjoy!

Tony had already sunk several hours into designing a miniature version of the helicarriers he’d created for Fury — this time they would be strictly for Avengers use _only_ — by the time his Sunday afternoon was rudely interrupted.

For a moment, he ignored the angry screeches of the security system. He figured if it was a less-than-critical warning, JARVIS would handle it given a minute or two.

A few seconds after the alarms started to sound, Tony relented. His concentration was already broken thanks to the incessant blaring of two of the tower security alarms anyway. 

“JARVIS, catch me up,” Tony demanded. He moved to the nearest computer and pulled up the feed of every security camera on the levels of the tower with Avengers-only access.

“The tower’s secure perimeter has been breached. A number of your security alarms have been tripped by an external threat. There is an unauthorized individual on the balcony.” 

Tony paused momentarily because that _shouldn’t be possible_ and there were a dozen redundancies and security measures to ensure that it could never happen. But he pulled up the balcony camera feed anyway. He stared at it, brow furrowed.

“There’s no one there, J.”

“I believe the visual feed has been tampered with.”

So this someone had the ability to mess with his security system. That wasn’t promising.

“For fuck’s sake.” Tony stood up and went for the suit. “I didn’t think it would be too much to ask for a quiet Sunday, but it looks like I was mistaken.” Tony rolled his eyes, despite there being no one around to appreciate his frustration or sassy commentary. “Is this going to be an all-hands-on-deck Avengers-type situation? Or is this something I can take care of on my own?” 

JARVIS hesitated. That was never a good sign. Tony stood in a clear area and called the suit to him. The pieces began assembling around him as JARVIS responded.

“I’m inclined to believe you could hold your own against a single individual, sir, but I have no way of knowing whether this particular adversary is human, alien, or enhanced in some way.”

“Right.” Tony sighed. “Excellent.”

The final pieces of the suit slotted into place, and Tony flew to the back Iron Man exit he installed in the workshop a month after moving into the tower.

It only took him a few seconds to fly high enough to get a clear aerial view of the balcony.

“You’ve got to be shitting me.” Tony couldn’t believe it. “Is that who I think it is, JARVIS?”

“All compiled intelligence would suggest that is one James Buchanan Barnes, most commonly referred to in this century as the Winter Soldier.”

Okay. So Tony needed a new approach.

“He looped my camera footage, so he knew I was monitoring the balcony, but he obviously tripped the alarms intentionally,” Tony said, thinking aloud for JARVIS’ benefit. “I don’t think he’s coming in. I think he’s waiting for me to meet him.”

Tony flew back into the workshop and hesitated. He should call Steve. He should. But. 

He ordered the suit back to its resting station. 

“Sir, I do not think it is wise to address Mr. Barnes without the armor — ”

“It’s fine, J. I don’t think he’s here to hurt anyone.” Tony was about ninety percent sure of that. 

“I still would not suggest — ”

“You might as well save it.”

“Captain Rogers would not approve,” JARVIS said in an apparent last-ditch effort.

“Steve doesn’t get to criticize how I address threats to the tower when he’s not home to help. Besides, it’s only Barnes. He hasn’t been hurting anyone but HYDRA agents in months.”

“Shall I reboot the cameras?” JARVIS asked, helpfully. “Then, if something goes awry, I can contact SHIELD.” 

“Sure. Reboot the cameras. But I’m going out there to see what he wants.”

“Might I suggest bringing along the portable repulsor tech you spent so long developing?”

Tony thought about it for a second before snapping the repulsor-watch onto his wrist. If he needed it, at least he’d have some kind of protection. Plus, the watch doubled as a repulsor and an EMP, so it could theoretically put Barnes’ metal arm out of commission. That evened the odds a bit. 

Not to mention it might keep Steve from killing Tony for being reckless about his own life.

“Call Pepper, J,” Tony said. “Let her know what’s about to go down.”

Again, this was a safety precaution mainly for appearance’s sake. Odds were that JARVIS would be more helpful if this came to a fight than Pepper. But it was good to have a human in the loop, Tony supposed.

With that, Tony marched up the stairs from the lab. 

When he reached the Avengers’ common floor, which was empty and had been for nearly a week now, Tony realized — not for the first time — how much he missed everyone.

Steve had been right to call what the Avengers experiment had become a family. His— no, _their_ family. It’s what Tony always imagined a real family would feel like; sometimes it was even better. God, he missed them.

“Alright, J,” Tony said, standing at the back door. Barnes was still at the corner of the balcony, near the edge. He wasn’t close enough to call attention to himself from the street hundreds of feet below. Both hands, flesh and metal, were obviously and entirely exposed. “If I’m not back inside in thirty minutes call in the big guns.”

He pushed open the door to the balcony.

The wind this high was worse sometimes than others. Today was one of the rare days where there was only a light breeze and nothing more. It was quiet and still. 

The setting didn’t match the conversation Tony was expecting at all.

“Stark,” Barnes said after a minute. He hadn’t moved his hands even an inch in a deliberate show of reassurance. 

“You can relax, Barnes,” Tony said. “I’m not going to come after you.” He paused and when Barnes showed no signs of relaxing in the slightest, he decided to add, “But Steve isn’t here, if that’s who you’re looking for.”

Barnes’ mouth quirked up slightly in what Tony thought was the ghost of a smile. 

“I know. I left him and Sam chasing a trail that’ll go cold in Kharkiv a week from now. Figure I can be back there before then if needed.”

Tony appraised Barnes silently. So. They’d been underestimating him. He’d been leading Sam and Steve across Europe for nearly two months straight, and clearly that remarkable feat hadn’t been the least bit difficult for him. No one had a shot at getting close to him unless he intended to be found. So that was… just great. Fantastic.

Barnes watched the realization play out on Tony’s face and smirked. It didn’t touch his eyes. 

“Bucky Barnes,” he said with a slow, careful wave of his non-metal hand. “International assassin. And a pretty successful one at that.”

Tony raised an eyebrow in challenge.

“Tony Stark. Leading name in black-market arms deals.”

The smirk dropped off Barnes’ face immediately. He glared at Tony. 

“Oh, sorry,” Tony said, voice laced with sarcasm. “I thought we were introducing ourselves with whatever horrible things we’ve been involved in without our consent.”

Barnes snorted at that, a little sound that could pass for a laugh if you’d been tortured and turned into a Nazi organization’s living weapon for several decades. He was smirking again even as he rolled his eyes. Tony thought that seemed like a good sign.

“Funny,” Barnes said. His gaze flickered to the balcony door behind Tony and along the glass windows for a moment. Scanning the perimeter, Tony realized. The smirk vanished along with any trace of amusement. Barnes took a deep breath. “I killed your parents.”

Tony nodded. “I know.”

Barnes’ eyebrows shot up in shock.

“I wasn’t sure _you_ did,” Tony added. “You remember them?”

“I remember all of them.”

Tony looked Barnes over. His shoulders were tense, and the hollows beneath his eyes were the kind Tony recognized from his own history with sleeplessness. That all-consuming bone-deep exhaustion was painfully familiar. Barnes was leaning forward on his feet as if he were ready to run, but he’d also squared his shoulders in preparation for a fight. 

“And Steve?” Tony asked. “You remember him?”

Barnes nodded slowly. Hesitantly. “His mom’s name was Sarah. He used to wear newspapers in his shoes.”

Tony laughed outright at that.

“Okay, wow. That’s just… fantastically embarrassing material I didn’t know I needed on Steve. Thank you for that.”

“Happy to help,” Barnes said, still tense.

“Come on.” Tony waved Barnes toward the tower entrance with one hand and ran his other hand through his hair. When Barnes didn’t move an inch, Tony sighed. “At ease, Sergeant,” Tony said, switching from ‘soldier’ to ‘sergeant’ at the last second. “I’m not going to fight you. And no one else is either. I’m the only one here.”

“I know that,” Barnes said, eyes scanning the empty Avengers floor behind Tony again.

“I know you know that. So you might as well come inside. There’s no reason for us to have this conversation out here. People get nosy sometimes.” Particularly when they know Steve’s out of town. 

“Stark — ”

“Why don’t you just tell me why you’re here?” Tony tried again. “If you don’t want to come inside, I mean.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to come inside.”

“Okay, so…?”

“Steve wants me here. I know that,” Barnes said, carefully. “But… this is _your_ _home_ , Stark. I killed your parents. The least I can do is give you the chance to say you don’t want your parents’ murderer anywhere near you without forcing you to deal with Steve’s kicked-puppy face.”

Tony blinked in shock. He wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t that.

“Just say the word, and I’ll disappear. I’ll get Steve to stop looking for me. I’ll get him to come home. And you’ll never have to see me again.”

“You think you’ll be able to get him to stop looking for you?”

“I know I can.”

“Then you don’t know Steve.”

“Oh please,” Barnes rolled his eyes, looking truly perturbed for the first time since he’d arrived. “I know Steve. Know him well enough to know I could get him to come home to you. He loves you.”

“He— well, yes. But— ”

“Look, I know you have no reason to, but would you just trust me on this? I can get Steve to give up trying to bring me in.”

“Right, sure — ”

“It’s a pretty simple question, Stark. Do you want me out of your life?” Barnes stared at Tony evenly. “I’m not going to tell him it was you. He’ll never find out about this conversation.” 

“Of course he will. I love him. I’m not going to lie to him about something like this. He loves you, too. I won’t ask him to choose between me and his best friend.”

“That’s why I’m asking you, not him.”

Tony hesitated. 

For just a heartbeat, he let himself imagine a future without Bucky Barnes in it. One where Steve came home unsuccessful in his search, but was somehow perfectly content. Tony didn’t have to see the man who killed his mother over breakfast every morning or share popcorn with him during movie nights. Steve was happy and, most importantly, still madly in love with Tony.

It was good. Maybe even great. 

But it was a fantasy, and Tony knew it would never be real.

Honestly, he didn’t think that he wanted it to be.

“I don’t want you gone,” Tony said, his voice steady and sure in a way that surprised them both.

Bucky was looking at the ground. He shifted on his feet.

“You’re sure about this?” He met Tony’s gaze and raised an eyebrow skeptically. Tony recognized something light, something that looked a lot like hope rising unwelcome but unstoppable in Barnes’ eyes. 

_Wonder what it’s like to think you might be able to stop running after all this time._ It all but made the decision for him. Tony wasn’t going to be the person who left him without a safe place to go.

“Positive,” Tony said. He turned and pulled open the door into the tower. He held it open for Barnes. He’d made his decision, and now all Tony wanted to do was move forward. “Now, come on. I’ll introduce you to JARVIS, and you two can get acquainted while I call Steve.”

“The tower is empty,” Barnes said, sounding uncertain suddenly. The tension that had eased out of Barnes’ shoulders ever so slightly was back in full-force.

“Yes, sorry. JARVIS isn’t a person, he’s artificial intelligence. Basically, a smart computer that helps me run the tower and keep everyone inside it safe.”

“I feel obliged to inform you both that I resent being called a ‘smart computer,’ sir,” JARVIS said. 

Barnes froze in the entryway.

“Sorry, J. So that’s JARVIS,” Tony said, brightly. He thought pushing forward past Barnes’ inevitable elderly-super-soldier weariness was his best bet. It’s what he’d done with Steve. “He’ll answer any questions you have about the tower, the people inside it, and the people with access to it. Got that, J? Let’s give Sergeant Barnes here full Avenger access to the tower and your records. Exercise temporary discretion for records on Romanoff, Bruce, and Barton until they tell you otherwise.” 

Tony didn’t want to violate anyone’s trust by giving a professional assassin access to their files. He also knew there was next to no information on Thor that couldn’t be accessed by the general public, so there was no point censoring Thor’s files.

“You’re going to call Steve?”

“Yeah,” Tony said. “Want me to pass along a message?”

Barnes opened his mouth like he was going to say something but stayed silent. He pressed his lips together tightly and shook his head.

“You sure? Even after I charter them a private plane it’ll be several hours before they’re here.”

“I’m sure,” Barnes said. “But uh. Thanks.”

“Sure thing,” Tony said. “Make yourself at home. I’ll be right back.”

He took the stairs down to the workshop two at a time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...? *laughs nervously* what do we think?
> 
> I'm surprised by how much fun I had with this chapter. It came together in my head fairly easily, (what?! That never happens) and I just sort of ran with it.
> 
> What did you think? I know there are hundreds of versions of the "Bucky returns" fics, but this was the one that I had to go with based on my take on everyone's characterizations.
> 
> If you have a second, let me know what you thought! Or subscribe if you liked what you read ;).
> 
> This fic won't be nearly as long as "I like me better," but I'm expecting at least another chapter or two and I'd love to hear what you might be interested in reading. I can't promise I'll use a specific suggestion, but I also can't promise that your comments won't inspire me. It's happened before!
> 
> Thanks so much for taking the time to read. I love you all <3!


	2. Housing Avengers and Company

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steve finally gets brought in the loop :).

“Steve,” Tony said into the phone fifteen minutes later, more than a little breathless. He was actually surprised he’d managed to get Steve on the line in less than half an hour.

“Tony?” Steve said, question in his voice. “Is everything okay? Your message said urgent.”

“He’s here, Steve. Bucky’s here. You can come home now.”

“What?” Steve fell silent for a few seconds. “Tony, are you okay?”

“Yes, yes I’m good. Everything’s fine. But there’s no point in you being in Ukraine because Bucky is _here_.”

“He’s there? As in, there with you right now?”

“Well not exactly. I’m down in the lab and he’s upstairs. But yes, he’s in the tower.”

“By choice?”

“The only people in the world who were looking to bring him here are thousands of miles away, so I don’t exactly think he was strong-armed into showing up.” Tony could understand Steve’s skepticism, he really could. But he also just wanted Steve to trust him and start coming _home._ He knew the frustration seeping into his voice was unfair, but there still wasn’t anything he could do to stop it.

“And he’s just… there? What’s he doing?”

“I can’t see through walls, Steve.” Tony winced again at his tone. He sighed and tried again. “But yeah. He’s here. He’s… JARVIS?”

“Sergeant Barnes is currently sitting at the kitchen counter.”

“There,” Tony said, decisively. Part of him wanted to laugh at the sheer absurdity of it all. “He’s sitting at the kitchen counter.”

Steve was silent, but Tony thought he could picture how he looked hearing this now. He’d have that crease between his eyebrows that meant he was thinking far too hard, and he’d be too tense for Tony’s liking. But Tony thought there’d be hope in his eyes, too. Not unlike the hope Tony thought he’d seen in Bucky’s eyes earlier. 

“I’ve got a plane on standby,” Tony said after letting Steve process for a minute. “I just need to know when you and Sam can be at the nearest airport. And which airport is the nearest airport. Where are you?”

“Uh…” There was a muffled sound in the background, like someone was shuffling through papers. Tony wanted to cry; he’d uploaded all the newest and cutting-edge navigation and GPS systems to Sam and Steve’s secure travel communicators, and now auditory evidence suggested they were still using _paper maps_. Well, that’s what he got for falling in love with a 95 year old. “Sam says the closest airport is Odessa.”

“Perfect. Can you be there in about an hour?”

“Yes, we’ll be there.” 

In the background, Tony heard Sam say something that sounded like, “And apparently we’ll be breaking every speed limit between here and there, too.”

Tony felt a little bad for Sam, who was no-doubt about to be subjected to Steve’s favorite kind of reckless driving, but he was also selfishly pleased. The sooner Steve and Sam got to the plane, the sooner they got home. 

“Good. I’m having JARVIS send over more instructions about where to meet your plane and pilot, so let me know if that message doesn’t come through.”

“Okay,” Steve said. He sounded like he was still solidly stuck in the shock phase of this conversation. Tony supposed that was to be expected when the man he thought he’d been chasing through Eastern Europe was, in fact, sitting in Steve’s living room.

“He remembers you, Steve.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. My plan is to go upstairs and convince him to tell me all kinds of embarrassing stories about you.”

That startled a laugh from Steve. _Mission accomplished,_ Tony thought with a smile.

“God, please don’t.”

“Oh, honey. You don’t get a say. Maybe if you were here. _Maybe._ But you’re not. So it’s fair game.”

Steve chuckled again and then sighed.

“You really think he’s going to remember anything embarrassing?” His voice sounded impossibly small in a way Tony hadn’t heard before. But hopeful, too.

“Yeah,” Tony said, keeping his voice soft. “I do. He’s… I mean, I didn’t know him before, but he seems like himself. Or at least like the Bucky you told me about.”

“Really?”

“Really,” Tony said. “But — and again I can’t really stress this enough — I only met the man twenty minutes ago. At any rate, he’s here waiting for you. And so am I. So get moving, Rogers.”

“I’m moving,” Steve said. Tony actually thought he heard movement on the other end of the line to corroborate Steve’s claims. That was improvement. “I’m coming home, sweetheart.” This time, Tony could hear his smile.

“Damn right you are.”

“I love you, you know?”

“Yeah, I know. I love you too.” Tony heard a car starting. “Let me know when you’re on the plane,” Tony said.

“Of course.”

“Fly safe.”

“Are you sure _you’re_ safe?”

“Yeah, Steve. I’m good. He’s not going to hurt anyone. I’ll see you soon.”

“See you soon,” Steve said and hung up. 

* * *

Time moved slower after Steve and Sam were on the plane. Tony knew that wasn’t possible, of course, but it didn’t stop it from seeming true as he and Bucky waited for Steve’s return.

When Tony came up from the workshop he’d overheard Bucky talking to JARVIS. Unexpected, but likely a good sign. He paused, hovering in the stairwell, to listen.

“Barnes is fine.” JARVIS must have been asking how he preferred to be addressed. “Unless you call people by first names. Then you should just call me Bucky.”

Tony thought about entering the kitchen but decided to hang back for a moment to let them chat.

“Noted, Sergeant Barnes.”

“Don’t think Sergeant really applies anymore on account of the war crimes,” Bucky said, his tone twisting into something angry and bitter. Tony couldn’t really blame him.

“That is still your title in my system and U.S. Army records,” JARVIS said. “You could bring it up with Master Stark if it bothers you. But he personally helped select all Avengers’ titles himself.”

_Thanks for ratting on me, J._

“I’m not an Avenger.”

“And yet, you have Avengers clearance.”

“I didn’t ask for that.”

“That’s just best practice. No one who has asked for Avenger-level access has ever been given it.”

“You’re awfully sassy for a supercomputer,” Bucky said. “I take it you have Stark to thank for that?”

“That’s 100 percent correct,” Tony said, walking back into the kitchen with what he hoped would be read as ease. “Glad to see you two cozying up to each other. Is there anything I can do for you that JARVIS couldn’t?”

“No. I’m fine.”

“How’s your arm?”

“Because it’s you, I’m going to assume you mean the metal one. And it’s fine.”

“Good assumption. Okay, then. How about food? Are you hungry? Steve can eat twelve times a day and still be hungry whenever I ask, so if you have even a fraction of his metabolism I’m guessing you could go for some food.”

“No, thank you.”

“Something to drink? Water?” Tony thought about the things he’d craved when he was trapped in that cave in Afghanistan and about the things he’d wanted as soon as he got home. Water had been at the top of the list, but there were plenty of other things, too. “Cold beer? Something stronger?”

“No, thank you.” 

Okay… Maybe he wanted space? Some time to himself?

“You want to see your room, then?” Tony tried, finally.

_“What?”_

“Do you want to see your room? Or, well. I don’t know, maybe you’d call it sleeping quarters? A room with a bed, closet. There’s a bathroom. I know even super-soldiers-turned-unwilling-assassins still need to sleep, shower, and use the toilet from time to time.”

“I don’t understand.” To Barnes’ credit, he looked entirely perplexed. 

His blue eyes were narrowed as he looked at Tony with clear skepticism. A deep furrow appeared between his eyebrows in a way that — surprisingly or unsurprisingly — reminded Tony of Steve. The two didn’t really look anything alike, but it was almost as if their confusion and distress etched itself into their facial expressions in the same way. As Tony watched, Bucky worked his jaw nervously.

“Steve’s been off looking for you for about two months,” Tony said. “I’ve had some free time on my hands. And for the past two years or so, I’ve been…” _collecting people who need homes_ is what he would have said if Barnes knew him better. “Housing Avengers and company,” he settled on finally. “You’re important to Steve, which means you’re special. So, you know. You have a room.”

Barnes stared at him in silence for such a long time that Tony actually started to get uncomfortable. But he waited it out stubbornly. He knew if he cracked first they weren’t ever going to make any progress at all.

“You… made me a room?”

“It wasn’t hard.” Tony shrugged. “And it isn’t much. I basically just reworked Steve’s room into something for you. I didn’t know much of anything about what you might like, so it’s pretty neutral. You can spruce it up however you want. Make it your own, that kind of thing. I don’t care, it’s not like we need the space.”

Tony wanted to add that because it was Steve’s old room, it meant Bucky could be safe in the knowledge that he’d be sleeping right across the hall from Steve, who now slept in Tony’s room. But he didn’t. 

First, because he wasn’t sure how much Bucky really understood about the nature of his and Steve’s relationship. It was entirely possible Bucky knew they were _in love,_ like live-and-sleep-together-in-the-same-room-every-night in love — _He loves you,_ Bucky had said — but Tony didn’t feel the need to inform him otherwise if he thought they were just close work friends. Or something. 

Second, Tony wasn’t really sure he expected Steve to come home and fall back into their old routines like everything was the same. So maybe Steve wouldn’t be sleeping across the hall with Tony at all.

Bucky was back now. Tony knew he and Steve had always lived together before the war. Maybe Steve would think that staying with Bucky would help him adjust. Or maybe Steve would just want to stay with his best friend after so long apart. 

It sounded absolutely ridiculous in his head, but Tony couldn’t deny that an incredibly irritating and vocal part of his brain insisted that he shouldn’t be selfish. Steve wasn’t his. 

Except, he was. Sort of. It was very complicated, and none of it needed to be explained.

“Besides, they’re not going to be home for about twelve hours or so,” Tony finished finally. “You could take a hot shower, change into more comfortable clothes.” Bucky was only wearing a simple black t-shirt — Tony suspected that choice had been deliberate, to show he was “unarmed” despite the very evident metal arm — but he was also in heavy-looking dark-wash jeans. In _June._ “You might as well be comfortable while you wait. Your closet’s half-full of stuff that should fit if you didn’t bring anything.” 

Tony somehow doubted that the black backpack Bucky had over his shoulders and securely strapped in front of his chest contained anything as mundane as clothing, but maybe Tony was wrong. He still wasn’t saying anything, though.

“Look, I get that you’re probably not loving the idea of trusting some guy you just met. I’m not exactly thrilled about the situation either. This would be much easier for everyone involved if you’d waited until Steve was home. Or come back with him. Or something.” Bucky opened his mouth to protest, and Tony held up his hand to quiet him. “I’m not saying I don’t understand why you did it. And I’m not saying I’m not grateful. I am. 

“But I’m not going to kill you. Or hurt you. I don’t know how to make you believe that. So short of us staying in this room staring at each other for the next twelve hours — ”

“I believe you,” Bucky interrupted. “I’m just…” Bucky’s eyes darted around the large Avengers kitchen and swept over the empty living room. “I’m not great with unfamiliar places.” He wasn’t looking at Tony when he said it, but there was something painfully vulnerable in his voice. It made him sound much, much younger.

He didn’t like unfamiliar places. Okay. Tony could work with that.

“JARVIS, bring up the Avengers floor blueprints on the TV, would you?”

“Of course, sir.”

The blueprints appeared immediately. Tony tipped his chin toward the TV.

“That’s the layout.” It excluded the names of bedroom owners because JARVIS was a genius and understood that if Natasha’s file wasn’t Barnes’ to access, her bedroom absolutely wasn’t his to know about either. “And let’s highlight Barnes’ room. Perfect.”

Bucky took two steps closer to the TV and scanned the blueprints intensely. Tony thought that was a good sign. 

“If you have any questions about the room — ”

“How many points of entry?”

“Two doors, two windows. One door into the hallway and one onto the balcony we just came from. Bathroom window is small, the one in the bedroom is larger. They’re double-paned with bulletproof glass, but feel free to board them up or hire someone to reinforce them with steel if that’s more your style,” Tony said, entirely serious even as he phrased the words like a joke. “You don’t even have to worry about Clint scurrying through the vents. I made sure none of the residential rooms had air ducts large enough for him to fit himself into.”

“What?”

“Doesn’t matter. Never mind. You’re right next to the elevator, which means if your hearing is anything like Steve’s you’re going to be the first to know whenever someone arrives or leaves. You’ve also got balcony access, so you’ll hear anyone who tries to enter using your preferred method. Speaking of, at some point you’re going to have to tell me how the hell you — ”

“No.”

“Fine, fine. Someday. You just wait, I’ll get it out of you.”

“There’s a staircase across the hall,” Bucky said, ignoring Tony entirely. “Where does it go?”

“Lower level. Also Avengers-only access. My workshop and Bruce’s lab. It’s the only entrance. Elevator doesn’t stop there.” Bucky raised his eyebrows in question. “I’m weird about people being in my space, and Bruce doesn’t like surprises either.” 

“And JARVIS?”

“JARVIS is… optional,” Tony said even though that was a terrible way to describe it. “He can be as present or as absent as you’d like him to be. It’s your space. There’s a light switch by the door that takes your entire room off JARVIS’ mainframe.” It didn’t feel prudent to say that he’d installed that feature as a way to tease Steve and nothing more; JARVIS’ dutiful surveillance could be turned off in any room using simple voice commands, and Steve had learned that well before the switch had been provided. “You can either use that or just activate a privacy protocol. Then it’ll be like your room doesn’t even exist, at least to him and the tower systems.

“Doesn’t really make the room any less secure, physically. But it does mean no one’s monitoring your vitals around-the-clock, calling for help if you’re trapped in a flashback, or letting anyone know if you fall and break your arm in the shower.

“Oh, and there’s even a mini fridge in your room.”

“Why?”

“I told you, it’s modeled after Steve’s.” — it _was_ Steve’s, but no matter — “He eats a lot. Just made more sense not to make him trek out to the kitchen every time he got hungry. There’s some water in there, some non-perishable snacks.” 

Tony couldn’t really remember what he’d stocked the fridge with. JARVIS would know.

“I can wait out here while you check it out if you want,” Tony offered. “Or I could show you. Hell, you can pull out your weapon of choice and do a sweep of the room, or the whole floor if you want to.” Bucky’s eyes snapped from the blueprints he was no-doubt memorizing to Tony’s face. His expression went from open shock to tense disapproval and weariness. 

“I can tell you’re practically twitching without one, and there’s really no one here but me. Besides, if you wanted to kill me, there are much quicker ways than waiting until I offer you a place to stay and show you the blueprints of my home.” Tony raised an eyebrow at Bucky. “Like throwing that knife in your waistband at me a solid twenty minutes ago, for example.” 

Bucky glared at him. 

Yeah, maybe Tony was showing off a little. So sue him. He waited a heartbeat. Then two. Then twelve. 

“So?” Tony asked, growing a bit impatient. “What are you thinking, here?”

Bucky looked at him evenly for another second before he finally moved. He unclipped the backpack and swung it off his right shoulder and around to the front of his body. After unzipping the bag carefully, he pulled out a small handgun, checked to confirm it was loaded, and slipped his finger down near the trigger all without taking his eyes off Tony. When Tony didn’t duck for cover or do anything beyond watch curiously, the corner of Bucky’s mouth twitched up in a smile. 

“You’re kind of a crazy bastard, you know that Stark?”

Tony smiled. Bucky zipped his backpack and slipped it back over his shoulders, gun still in hand.

“Believe it or not, that’s not the first time I’ve heard that. And please, call me Tony.” 

Bucky snorted a little.

“You got this?” Tony asked, nodding toward Bucky’s room down the hall.

“Yeah. But if I’m calling you Tony, you gotta start calling me Bucky.”

“If I must,” Tony said, sighing as if it was going to be a challenge. It was, a little bit. “Seriously, I’m sorry but that’s not a grown man’s name.” Bucky just rolled his eyes. “Now, if you need me I’ll be down in the workshop. Or you can always ask JARVIS to pass along a message.

“Try not to break anything, but don’t worry too much if you do. I once had to replace Steve’s bedroom door because he came home a little heated after a mission and crushed the doorknob and part of the frame to bits, so.” Tony shrugged. 

Turning and walking back downstairs was much easier than Tony expected it would be. It probably said something negative about him that he didn’t feel the least bit threatened by having an armed assassin he barely knew standing in his living room.

But it’s more or less the same way his friendship with Natasha started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... what do you think? I'll be honest, I don't know what I was expecting when I sat down to write this chapter, but after the conversation between Tony and Steve, I kinda just went with it. Tony and Bucky decided they were going to... bond? Or something? I still don't really know XD. 
> 
> But what did you think of it? Did you like it? Hate it? Be honest, I love hearing your thoughts!
> 
> Steve is on the way!! Any guesses on what he's going to do when he gets home??
> 
> I love you all, and I hope you enjoyed. Thanks so much for reading and please, leave a comment if you have a moment and can think of something to say :)! 
> 
> Also, you can come fangirl with me on Tumblr — I'm @superhusbands-superfan and I mostly reblog stony fics and content.


	3. Slightly Inappropriate Uses of Super-Human Speed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all!!! Happy Saturday! It's my birthday, but I wanted to give you all a little present for being such amazing readers <3\. 
> 
> We're back in Steve's head/perspective for this chapter because it's been a bit and it felt like it was time.

The driver Tony had sent to collect them at the airport slowed the car to a stop in the parking garage beneath the tower, and it took everything Steve had not to sprint from the vehicle before the tires had stopped rolling.

The minute the car was in park, Sam put his hand on Steve’s shoulder and squeezed. 

“Go on, man,” Sam said, nodding his chin toward the elevators that would take Steve up to the Avengers communal floor. “I’ll get the bags and thank the driver. I’ll be right behind you. Go see your boys.”

On any other day, Steve might have protested. At the moment, though, his internal monologue was essentially a repetitive loop of _Tony and_ _Bucky are here,_ so Steve didn’t think twice. He just moved. 

“JARVIS,” Steve said as the elevator doors slid closed. “Please let Tony know I’m here.”

“Already taken care of, Captain Rogers.” If Steve wasn’t mistaken, the AI seemed pleased with him. “I’m sure I will not be the last to say this, but it’s a pleasure to welcome you home, Captain.”

“Thank you, JARVIS. It’s unbelievably good to be home.”

The elevator doors opened, and the first thing Steve saw was the framed version of that photo Steve loved so much from the album Clint had given him for his birthday last year. It was the one where he, Natasha, and Tony had all been caught in the middle of full-body laughter over something Clint or Bruce had said. In the picture, Bruce was smirking a little, but Clint was glaring at everyone — which meant they were probably laughing at him. 

Steve had talked about how much he loved that photo enough that one day he’d come home from his run and found a 24x30 print of the image — _much_ larger and yet higher-quality, somehow — matted, framed, and displayed proudly on the wall. It had only taken Steve ten minutes to get Tony to admit he’d been the one behind it. Steve loved it.

He loved how it made the tower feel more like home for all of them, and he especially loved knowing that Tony had taken the time to do something like that for him. It was a reminder of how much Tony loved him, and Steve got to see it every time he came home.

Today was no different. 

He stepped off the elevator and registered sounds in the kitchen. 

“Tony?” Steve called quietly, already making his way toward the noise.

“In here!” Tony said, his excitement easily heard in his voice. 

Tony’s back was to Steve when he reached the kitchen. It looked like Tony was fiddling with the coffee maker. 

“I took the liberty of starting some coffee,” Tony said by way of explanation as he turned around to face Steve. He was clearly tired — there were dark shadows under his eyes — but still smiling. 

He was wearing one of Steve’s t-shirts, which was too big on him, and Steve could see the outline of his dog tags around Tony’s neck, too. _God_ , Steve had missed him fiercely. 

Tony, completely unaware of Steve’s line of thinking, continued talking without much pause at all. “I figure we’re all going to need it desperately, considering it’s 3 a.m. and I don’t see sleep in our near futures. Also, I gave our newest house guest a twenty-minute warning, so he should be coming around any second now.”

And that, for whatever reason, was as long as Steve was able to hold off. Whatever remnants of restraint he’d cobbled together that had enabled him to leave Tony the first time two months ago and then again a couple days after Tony’s birthday dissolved entirely. 

“Steve…?” Tony frowned a little now, nervous and unsure. Steve wasn’t going to let that continue. “Is everything oka— ”

Steve rarely used his enhanced speed when he wasn’t on the battlefield, but apparently this was the exception. Before Tony could even finish his question, Steve had both hands cupped around the back of Tony’s neck, as he simultaneously pulled Tony closer and used his thumbs to tip Tony’s chin up _just_ enough that their lips would meet at the perfect angle. 

Tony’s words faltered, and for a heartbeat he stayed stiff, lips unmoving against Steve’s. Abruptly and all at once, though, Tony caught up to Steve. He moved his right hand to the back of Steve’s head, his fingers tangling in Steve’s slightly-too-long hair, and he gripped the back of Steve’s neck tightly with his left hand.

Steve made a sound that was almost a moan mixed with some sort of low, vaguely possessive growl and he felt Tony shiver against him. 

They kissed for some indeterminate amount of time before Steve decided it still wasn’t enough; he needed more _._ Steve broke the kiss and went for Tony’s neck, dragging his teeth lightly against Tony’s skin. He was breathing heavily but trying to get control enough to speak. 

“I have missed you,” Steve finally whispered against Tony’s skin. He slid his hands down Tony’s body, moving them from his neck to his back to his ass, and squeezed just enough that he was sure Tony _noticed._ “So _much_ ,” Steve finished, capturing Tony’s mouth in another deep kiss. Steve bent his knees just a little and slipped his hands to the back of Tony’s thighs, hoping that Tony was on the same page as him.

As if he could read Steve’s mind, Tony wound both arms around Steve’s neck tightly and then allowed Steve to lift him up so it was easy and comfortable to wrap his legs around Steve’s waist. 

Steve wasn’t sure if he should be surprised that he and Tony were still in sync after months apart or unsurprised because they’d spent so many months together prior to that, but either way, Steve didn’t really care. Tony was right here with him. 

Steve lifted Tony up onto the counter easily, almost _too_ easily — he’d either forgotten how much Tony weighed (unlikely) or the other man hadn’t been eating regular meals in Steve’s absence the way he’d promised he would (far more likely) — and stepped closer.

Tony had a hand in Steve’s hair again, tugging lightly. It took everything Steve had not to melt under Tony’s touch. He wanted skin to skin contact. To satisfy that need, Steve tugged up the hem of Tony’s battered t-shirt and ran his fingers up Tony’s back greedily. Tony pulled away from the kiss and pressed his forehead against Steve’s. 

“Steve,” Tony said, his voice much rougher than it had been minutes earlier when he was casually discussing coffee. “I’m not complaining, but I’m also not sure this is the best time.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Steve agreed, and pulled Tony back in. 

Tony laughed against his lips and didn’t try to move away again.

“If this is how you’re greeting him after a couple months I’m a little worried about how you’re gonna want to greet me after seventy-somethin’ years,” a familiar voice drawled from several feet away.

Steve froze in Tony’s arms, and Tony broke away from the kiss to press his face into Steve’s neck as he laughed quietly at Bucky’s comment.

“Don’t tease him,” Tony said, raising his head to look at Bucky over Steve’s shoulder. “You’ve been gone. It isn’t fair.” Steve remained very still in Tony’s arms. Tony sighed and pulled back, trying to look Steve in the eye. Steve felt lost, and he imagined he looked lost as well. “Now look what you’ve done. He’s broken.”

Steve wanted to protest that, but his mouth — infuriatingly — felt like it was glued shut for some reason.

“His brain was functioning enough to get you into a compromising position,” Bucky said, pointedly. “I’m sure he’ll recover.”

Steve felt Tony’s legs drop from where they’d been wrapped around Steve’s waist. Steve figured that was probably because Bucky had given Tony _a look._

That was good. Steve knew that was good because that meant Bucky was back but, more importantly, Bucky’s personality was back too. And that was… amazing. 

But it also didn’t make any sense.

“Steve? Honey?” Tony placed his hand gently on Steve’s cheek. His hand was rough and warm just like Steve remembered. God, Steve had missed Tony’s hands. “Come on, sweetheart. Come back to me. I know this is a lot, but it’s all good stuff. I’ve seen you process aliens, robot armies, and the return of fucking _HYDRA_ faster than you’re processing your best friend’s triumphant return.”

“ _Triumphant?_ ” Bucky said behind him, and Steve knew he wasn’t prepared for whatever snarky thing he’d say next. “You’re absolutely dreaming, Stark, if you think anything about me dragging my majorly fucked up ass to this god-awful, ostentatious-as-hell tower can be called ‘triumphant’ in any way.”

“Hey!” Steve said — or more like squeaked, really, no matter how embarrassing that fact was — and he whipped around to glare at Bucky as the general feeling of being overwhelmed faded slightly. “You are _not_ majorly fucked up.”

Bucky gave him a self-deprecating little half-smile. “I really am, pal.” He looked Steve up and down, and Steve fought the urge to blush and squirm under his friend’s gaze. “Being in love looks good on you, Steve.”

Steve wanted to be serious, but he suspected Bucky said what he did to prevent exactly that. Steve couldn’t help blushing at Bucky’s comment, and Tony wasn’t exactly helping matters. Quite the opposite, in fact. Tony used the hand that he’d dropped from Steve’s face when he’d spun around to look at Bucky to pull Steve back by his shoulder just enough that he was able to plant a smacking kiss on Steve’s cheek.

“It does, doesn’t it?” Tony said, smug as ever. Steve rolled his eyes.

“Thanks,” Steve finally managed, still blushing bright red. He had _not_ expected this sort of tag-teamed attempt to embarrass the hell out of him. Maybe he should have. He tried to push past it. “You look good too, Buck.” Bucky raised an eyebrow, skeptically. “Or better, at least,” Steve said with a scowl. “Than the last time I saw you.”

Bucky snorted, but there wasn’t really any humor in it. “Yeah. That’s fair.”

Steve took a step closer to where Bucky was standing by the fridge, and Tony let him go. He didn’t really know what he wanted, but evidently being closer to Bucky was part of it.

“Do you…” Steve paused. He knew what Tony had said on the phone, but he still wanted to hear it from Bucky himself. “You remember me?”

“Yeah, Steve, I do.” Bucky gave Steve a minute to process that, which was considerate of him considering his next words. “And I remember getting punched a few times defending you against assholes who claimed you liked men more than was considered acceptable at the time,” Bucky said, a teasing lilt to his voice. “Don’t ever remember you telling me they were right, though.” His eyes held a challenge, and for the first time in his life Steve wasn’t sure he wanted to rise to it.

Steve shuffled a little, and scratched at the back of his neck nervously. Yeah, he definitely hadn’t thought any of this home coming through _at all._ He hadn’t even paused once to consider that, really, Bucky had no way of knowing that he was into men. Or specifically into Tony, even. 

Steve stared at Bucky carefully, looking for anything that might give him a clue where his friend’s head was at. But Bucky just looked… playful. The way he always looked when he teased Steve. 

“Yeah. Sorry,” Steve said, shrugging. “Wasn’t really relevant at the time, but obviously…” Tony must have hopped off the counter behind Steve at some point because he was standing beside him now. Steve reached over and took Tony’s hand in his. Tony squeezed his hand lightly, just enough to say _I’m here._ “Obviously they were right.”

Bucky smiled. “You could’ve told me, you know. I still would’ve defended you,” Bucky said as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

Maybe it was.

“I know,” Steve said, knowing full well he sounded — and probably looked — like the short, ninety-five pound punk he used to be as he smiled just a little at the tiled kitchen floor. “You were always trying to fight my battles for me — ”

“You got into more ‘battles’ than anyone your size had any right to.”

“ — even when I was perfectly capable of handling things — ”

“ — Perfectly capable my ass _, Rogers_! You’d be dead five times over if I hadn’t been around when we were growing up.”

“ — on my own,” Steve finished. For just a second, he managed to keep the stubborn look on his face, but it quickly slipped into a cautious smile. “You’re probably right,” Steve admitted. 

“Wow, Steve Rogers admitting I single-handedly kept him alive for twenty years,” Bucky said, smirking. “Someone record this.”

“Would you like visual as well as audio, Sergeant Barnes?” JARVIS asked, startling everyone in the kitchen, even those used to experiencing AI-interruptions to general tower banter.

Bucky froze for a moment then barked a laugh. 

“Oh, I absolutely want video,” Bucky said, his grin wicked now. 

Steve huffed and rolled his eyes. But again, his frustration melted away almost as quickly as he mustered it up.

Steve stepped forward again, his hand slipping from Tony’s as he decreased the distance between him and Bucky once more. 

“I, uh,” Steve started and stopped. “Y-you can say no, if you want, Buck. But if you think it’d be alright, I’d really like to give you a hug.”

Bucky’s smile shifted from well-intentioned-evil-genius to genuine and a little sad. “I’d likethat,” he said, holding his right arm up and motioning Steve forward slightly. 

Steve moved — too fast, he knew, but Bucky was a super soldier now too, so maybe it was okay — and pulled Bucky close in a hug that was almost definitely too tight. Steve thought about loosening the arms he had wrapped around Bucky’s shoulders, but realized Bucky was holding him just as tight, if not tighter.

He was close enough to hear the steady beat of Bucky’s heart now, and that was almost as reassuring as knowing Tony was standing a few feet behind them, safe and sound.

_We’re going to be okay,_ Steve thought, and for the first time in a while, he knew it was the absolute truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think?!
> 
> Tony's point of view, for whatever reason, seems to come easier for me. At least from a writing perspective. How do you think I did with Steve here? Did you like this chapter? Hate it? Fall somewhere on the in-between spectrum? What do you think about Bucky's return so far? What do you think will happen next?
> 
> I love hearing all of your thoughts, so please drop me a comment! Also, if you'd like to chat about the chapter/this story/marvel/writing/literally anything, I'm on tumblr!!! Come chat with me! I'm @superhusbands-superfan and I'd love to hear from you. Thanks so much for reading my work. I love you all!


	4. Nightmares, Memories, and Insecurities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay! I struggled with this chapter at times, but I hope it turned out okay. This is set a few hours after the previous chapter :). Enjoy!

Tony’s nightmares usually resulted in him tossing, turning, and waking up swearing. Or, at the absolute opposite end of the spectrum, him jolting awake to find his body absolutely frozen in fear.

For Steve, that wasn’t the case. When Steve had a nightmare, he jerked into a sitting position at Tony’s side, eyes wide and breathing fast and shallow. Nearly every time. 

And tonight was no different. The only bright side was, it always woke Tony up.

So Tony opened his eyes and realized two things at once. One, his heart was racing almost painfully in his chest. Two, Steve had been having a nightmare.

Tony sat up slowly, reaching for Steve’s shoulder before aborting that motion midway through. Sometimes it was best not to touch him immediately after a nightmare. 

JARVIS brought Tony’s bedside lamp up to 10 percent capacity. 

“Steve?” Tony said. He kept his voice soft and reassuring so he could feel out the situation. “You with me, honey?”

“Tony?” Steve asked, sounding like he was being strangled. This was a bad one, then.

“Yep, it’s me. I’m right here."

Steve twisted to face Tony. He reached for Tony’s face with both hands and cupped his cheeks gently like he thought Tony might break if he was too forceful. 

“I’m here, Steve,” Tony said again. “I’m right here. We’re in our room. You’re here with me. You’re safe.”

Steve stared at him for another minute, eyes wide and unblinking. Tony wasn’t convinced Steve was actually _seeing_ him.  He put both his hands on Steve’s shoulders and squeezed. 

“Steve, can you breathe with me? Come on, in and out… In, hold for two seconds, and breathe out…”

Steve slowly came back to himself as he matched his breathing pattern to Tony’s commands. Tony gave it another minute or so.

“That’s it, Steve,” Tony murmured softly. “Come back to me.”

Steve pressed his forehead to Tony’s and let out a breath he’d been holding for a beat too long. 

“Sorry, sorry. I’m here.”

“I know you are. You have been the whole time. We just had to convince you of that, yeah?”

Steve smiled, but it was a tiny, exhausted smile.

“Thank you.”

Tony put his hand gently over the one Steve still had pressed against his cheek.

“What was it?” Tony asked. He moved his thumb back and forth against the back of Steve’s hand. Steve was silent for a beat. “Was it Bucky?”

Steve winced at the reminder and, much to Tony’s horror, started shaking. Tony was pretty sure that meant Bucky was involved in the memory-nightmare somehow.

“JARVIS, can we get an update on Wilson and Barnes?” Tony said just a touch louder than when he spoke to Steve.

“Both Sergeant Barnes and Staff Sergeant Wilson are currently asleep in their respective rooms, sir.” 

“Perfect. Thanks, J.”

“It wasn’t Bucky,” Steve choked out, finally. He was still shaking like someone who’d been outside in a blizzard and couldn’t get warm. _Or,_ Tony thought, bitterly, _like someone who’d been frozen in the ocean for seven decades._

“No? Okay.” Tony gently pulled Steve’s hands from his face and linked their fingers together. He squeezed Steve’s hands. “Then what was it?”

“You.” In the dim light of the room, it looked like there were tears in Steve’s eyes. Before Tony could tell for sure, Steve squeezed his eyes closed.

Steve dropped Tony’s hands and pulled him into a tight hug, his fingers digging into Tony’s shoulder blades. Tony pressed closer. He wasn’t entirely sure what was going on yet, but it was clear that Steve’s nightmare had been about losing him. 

“I’m right here,” he whispered. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.” 

Steve sighed into Tony’s shoulder but didn’t let go. Tony squeezed him as tight as he could manage.

“You fell,” Steve said, his voice strangely broken and uneven. “I was on the train again except this time it was _you_ falling into the ravine and there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t reach you. I was so close, but I couldn’t do it. And I couldn’t even jump after you.” Steve was shaking _more_ in Tony’s arms now, and  Tony’s heart was breaking for Steve and this familiar pain he was feeling . “I tried, but it was like I couldn’t move.”

“Shhhh, sweetheart,” Tony whispered. He stroked a hand through Steve’s hair. “It’s okay. We’re both okay. Better than okay, even.” It seemed like maybe the shaking was slowing ever so slightly. “I’ve got you, Steve.”

Tony was always a little surprised by how easy it was for him to offer this type of comfort. He didn’t even have to think about it anymore. Reassurances fell from his lips readily, and he had no reservations about touching Steve, grounding him. It had all scared him shitless at one point, but that seemed like forever ago, now.

“I can’t lose you too, Tony. I _can’t_ ,” Steve said, his voice now hoarse with tears.

“I know, honey, and you haven’t. You haven’t lost me. I’m right here.” Tony started rubbing small circles into Steve’s back. “I’m right here, and so are you. We’re in our room at the tower, safe and sound. And Steve, you haven’t lost Bucky either. He’s here, too. He’s asleep just across the hall.”

“I know that. I do.” Steve let out a deep, exhausted sigh.

“But dreams are tricky bastards,” Tony said with a sigh of his own. 

“Yeah.”

They were both silent for a minute. 

“It wasn’t your fault, you know.” Tony wasn’t entirely sure this was the right time, but it needed to be said. Steve needed to know none of this was his fault. “When Bucky fell? It wasn't your fault. You did everything you could, Steve. Bucky knows that, and I know that.”

Steve pulled far enough away that he could look Tony in the eye. Despite the tears running down his cheeks, Steve’s face was all stubbornness and hard lines. 

“Tony, I’m going to have to disagree with you there.”

“No, Steve, you’re not. Listen, you might think you’ve cornered the market on the ‘I should have caught you, but I couldn’t and you fell’ guilt, but that’s just not true. Do you remember what I told you about Killian and Extremis?”

Steve’s brow furrowed, but he nodded.

“He kidnapped Pepper,” Tony said. “And when I finally found her, she was up on this… ridiculous metal structure. It was mostly cranes, catwalks, and scaffolding all towering about 200 plus feet in the air above very unforgiving concrete and, at the time, a blazing fire. 

"I knew she’d been experimented on, but she didn’t look any different. When I got to her, she was just far enough away that I couldn’t reach her.” Tony’s voice cracked a little as he forced himself to relive the memory. Steve was staring at him intensely now, concerned and interested in almost equal measure. It was understandable; Tony hadn’t ever told him this story before. 

He took a deep breath and continued. “I couldn’t reach her, so I asked her to let go. And I told her I would catch her. I _promised_ I would catch her.” He was close to tears now, too. “But the whole metal contraption she was stuck on shifted. I _almost_ had her hand, but I couldn’t reach her in time. So I watched her fall hundreds of feet into a raging fire. I thought she was dead.

“It was only for a few minutes, but it was one of the worst things I’ve ever experienced. I wouldn’t wish that on _anyone,_ let alone you. I’m so sorry, honey. I know how it feels, and I’m so sorry.” Steve gently wiped a stray tear off Tony’s cheek. “But because I’ve lived through something similar to what you did, I _know_ that it’s not your fault.” 

The crease between Steve’s eyebrows deepened as he processed what Tony was saying. There was still an edge of stubbornness in the set of his jaw. 

“Steve. Was it my fault when Pepper fell?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then how could it have been your fault when Bucky did?”

Steve stayed silent, but he narrowed his eyes at Tony in an almost-glare without any real heat behind it. 

“See?” Tony knew he had him.

“I really hate that we’ve had enough similar traumatic experiences that you were able to find a way to make me admit that this couldn’t have been my fault,” Steve said, the corner of his mouth pulling up into the ghost of a smile. 

“It’s awful, right?” Tony said, teasing just a little. “Damn those shared life experiences.”

Steve smiled and looked down at the sheets tangled on the bed. Tony reached up and brushed the tears off his cheeks, then followed up with a kiss to Steve’s forehead.

Steve had stopped shaking completely at some point during Tony’s story, he realized. 

“How’re you feeling?”

“Better. But you know that,” Steve said. He was right, Tony could tell by the way the tension had eased out of his muscles that he was doing better than before. “Thank you.”

“It’s what I’m here for.”

Steve looked at Tony in the dim light of their bedroom and swallowed hard. Tony raised his eyebrows, confused about why Steve suddenly seemed overcome with emotion again; he thought they’d been moving past the emotionally-charged part of the night. But before he could ask, Steve said, “I love you. _So_ much. I don’t think I’ve actually said that since I’ve been back, and I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s okay, Steve. You’ve had a lot on your mind.”

“Yes, but I’m asking you for a lot. I’ve _been_ asking you for a lot for months now. And I don’t want you to think that anything about our relationship has changed because Bucky’s back. I love you. You’re the _most important person_ in my life. I don’t want to give you any reason to doubt that.”

Steve hadn't said that since… maybe since after their first fight. And it was exactly what Tony needed to hear.

“I love you too, Steve. And you’re the most important person in my life, too.”

Steve smiled and pulled Tony to his chest, arms wrapped tight around Tony’s shoulders. 

Tony never felt safer or more loved than he did when he was in Steve’s arms. 

That was probably the reason behind what happened next. Or at least, that’s what Tony was going to tell himself.

“ _I know it was stupid, but I wasn’t sure you’d stay in our room now that he’s back,_ ” Tony blurted, the words rushing together. Even as the sentence tumbled out of his mouth, Tony was horrified at himself.

Steve stilled and pulled away so he could look at Tony closely. He opened and closed his mouth like he was trying to find words for a second. “Sweetheart… where else would I go?”

Tony shrugged, not meeting Steve’s eyes. “You were roommates before.” 

Steve didn’t respond right away. In fact, he stayed quiet long enough that restlessness got the better of Tony, and he half suspected that was what Steve had been waiting on.

“I knew it was stupid,” Tony said again before Steve could tell him so himself. “I knew it was. But.” He shrugged helplessly. 

“You really think after _months_ of being away from you I’m going to want to sleep _anywhere_ but by your side?” When Tony didn’t say anything, Steve kept talking. “Not a chance, Tony. I wouldn’t give this up for anything.”

“I know that,” Tony said, with a degree of certainty that surprised them both. “I do, I promise. Sometimes I just… have a hard time believing it.” 

Steve looked at Tony, his eyes sharp in a way Tony didn’t see too often. He always felt particularly exposed when Steve looked at him _like that._

“You’re not some kind of… stand-in or—or _placeholder_ , Tony.” Steve said the word ‘placeholder’ with no small amount of disgust. “Not even close. Please tell me you didn’t think that — ”

“I didn’t, not really,” Tony said quickly. “I know you would never do that.” 

“No, I wouldn’t. For a lot of reasons, not least of which because you’re entirely irreplaceable, and it’d be stupid to try. But mainly because I love _you_ , Tony. No one else could ever dream of being who you are to me. It just… wouldn’t work.” Steve looked at him closely. “Okay?”

Tony smiled a little and nodded, prompting Steve to smile back.  He felt happy and warm inside — _loved_ , he realized not for the first time.

Tony wasn’t sure he could hear any more of Steve’s unbelievably sweet words without doing something horribly embarrassing like _crying_ again, and they’d both had about enough of that for one night. So it was time for something more lighthearted.

“So what you’re saying is… I’ve ruined you for other men?” Tony teased.

Steve laughed. “You could say that. Really, you’ve ruined me for anyone else.”

“Is it bad that I can live with that?”

Steve kissed Tony on the forehead. “I don’t think so.”

Tony could see slight shadows under Steve’s eyes still, betraying his lingering exhaustion. 

“Come on, back to sleep,” he said, pulling Steve toward their pillows. 

“Tony — ”

“Nope, not up for discussion. It’s barely six, and we all only went to bed about two hours ago. They’ll be asleep for hours still. Best to rest while we have the opportunity.”

“When did you suddenly get all responsible?” Steve grumbled, but he obediently stretched out on the mattress and sank into his pillow. 

_When I realized how tired you were._ “Doesn’t matter. All that matters is there’s still plenty of time to sleep.” Tony looked at Steve carefully, thinking of the nightmare that had woken them up a not long ago. “Do you think you can sleep?”

“With you here? Yes.”

Tony smiled a little and snuggled into Steve, his head on Steve’s chest. JARVIS turned the light out without being asked. “Good?”

“Perfect.” Steve wrapped both arms around Tony. “See, if I had a nightmare Bucky would just say, ‘it wasn’t real, Steve,’ tell me to roll over, and ask me not to wake him up again. He’s not going to stay up, compare traumas, and cuddle with me until I fall back asleep,” Steve joked. 

The _“I need you for that. I’m always going to need you for that,”_ went unspoken in the darkness between them.

“I can do that.” 

“I know you can. You’re great at it. It’s one of the many reasons I love you.” 

“Okay.” 

“Okay?”

“Yeah,” Tony pressed in closer and closed his eyes. “Okay.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... what do you think? I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with this chapter. Parts of it I adore and other parts I've been hyper-critical of, but I decided that I was just going to run with it. All this just to say, thank you for waiting so long and if you really loved any parts of this chapter please please *please* share that with me. I absolutely love knowing what resonates most with you guys ;).
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! I feel so blessed to have such lovely readers.
> 
> Also, Disclaimer for anyone wondering: I promise Sam made it upstairs lol. In my head, he was just calling his mom to let her know he was back in the country for the foreseeable future (like the good son he is) and made it upstairs to catch the tail end of Steve and Bucky’s hug. I just couldn’t organically work him into the last scene no matter how I tried, and he only got a check-up via JARVIS in this one. Not for lack of Sam love, I promise. Just cause this chapter was the private reunion moment our boys needed. So yeah, Sam's in his room and he'll be back soon :).


	5. Looking Out For Each Other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, lovelies! I know it's been about a million years (seriously, like four months!) but I hit a patch of writer's block that really stumped me for a while. But I'm back with a chapter and ideas for the next one. Thanks for sticking with me :).

The morning was quiet in the tower. Tony was the first one up and moving, despite the lengthy middle-of-the-night interruption. 

Well, moving was a relative term. 

Tony was the first one awake and being productive. He’d grabbed his tablet off the nightstand around 10:30 and had busied himself making several preparations and working on multiple projects since then.

Every so often, he checked on Steve who’d remained sleeping soundly at his side for the past few hours. 

It was pretty rare for Steve to sleep in at all, and Tony wasn’t sure that — barring when he was recovering from severe injuries — he’d ever known Steve to sleep past noon. Tony might have been concerned, if it weren’t for the fact that everyone else in the tower, at least by JARVIS’ account, was also still asleep by one.

“What time ’s it?” Steve eventually mumbled sleepily at Tony’s side. 

“Quarter to two,” Tony said, smirking a little. “Morning sleeping beauty.”

Steve grimaced. “You let me sleep until _two in the afternoon_?” 

“You needed it.”

“I would have been fine —” 

“Do you know how much I hate the word fine?” Tony asked, absentmindedly. “Personally, I don’t even think it should be in your vocabulary.”

Steve sighed, but there was a hint of soft fondness in his eyes and the faintest traces of an emerging smile. 

“How long have you been up anyway?”

“Only since ten-thirty.”

“Oh, only?” Steve looked at him, brows furrowed in confusion. “What are you still doing here? I figured you’d have at least three new projects to work on, considering everything that’s happened.”

“Four. And I’ve been working on them from here.” Steve was right, after all. Bucky’s addition to the family meant that he would get at least a few Tony projects. It was the way of the world. Tony glanced from the tablet screen to Steve. “You said you thought you could sleep with me here. I wasn’t about to leave.”

Steve stared at Tony, smiled, and shook his head. 

“I will personally fight anyone who dares to suggest you’re not the sweetest, most thoughtful boyfriend in the world. Just, you know, for the record.”

Tony let out an embarrassed huff of laughter and rolled his eyes.“Yeah, okay. But maybe don’t pick fights over trivial things, yes?” He leaned over and pecked Steve on the lips. “However, now that you’re awake I actually do want to run down to the shop to get some things ready for whenever Bucky makes an appearance.”

“What kinds of things?” Steve asked, curious. 

“New and improved welcome-to-the-family super soldier starter pack,” Tony quipped, pulling on an old band t-shirt. 

“A what?”

“You know. Just basics. Cell phone, untraceable mini GPS system, comms unit, some emergency cash, assorted weapons. The works.”

“Right. Of course,” Steve said slowly, still sounding slightly confused.

“Doesn’t matter to you anyways,” Tony said in the doorway of their room. “Just come find me later, and if Bucky wakes up, bring him with you.”

Before Steve could do anything to indicate his assent, Tony was already out the door.

* * *

Another hour later, and Bucky was standing in Tony’s workshop. With Steve.

_Captain America_ — Steve Rogers — _and Bucky Barnes_ were together. In his lab. Twelve-year-old Tony’s head had exploded with excitement, probably. He wasn't going to examine it too closely. 

Or nerd-out about the eager, wide-eyed excitement on Bucky’s face as he looked around the place. Even if his expression was slightly tinged with nerves, Bucky was _totally_ a science and tech fan. Tony could tell.

“Alright, this is for you,” Tony said, holding a Stark Industries phone out in Bucky’s general direction. 

Bucky stepped forward to take the phone and slowly took a couple of steps back to his original place on the other side of the work counter. “You know I could just — ”

“Yeah,” Tony said, waving him off. “I’m sure you could go out and pickpocket a new phone off some pedophile who deserves to be robbed, but why don’t you just take the free phone I’m offering and save us both the trouble?”

Bucky raised his eyebrows. “I was going to say I could buy a phone myself. But technically, I could do either.” Bucky turned the sleek metal device over in his hand. “This works too, though.” His lips quirked up in a small smile. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Tony said. He reached into his work desk’s drawer, pulled out a stack of cash, and dropped it into the duffel bag he’d put together. He pushed the bag across the countertop toward Bucky. “This is yours, too.”

Bucky stepped forward, peered into the bag and then looked from Tony to Steve expectantly. Tony was tapping away at his computer and missed the look entirely. When no one readily explained, Bucky sighed. “What am I going to do with three guns, six knives, half a dozen items of clothing, and ten thousand dollars?”

Steve laughed outright at that. “Tony, Buck doesn’t know you. Explaining things will go a long way.”

“It’s your standard go-bag,” Tony said, glancing up from the screen he was absorbed in. “In case, for some reason, shit goes down and you need to disappear again. That should make it easier. Also, there’s an untraceable GPS system in there, a comms unit, and a long-range radio. Just the usual stuff. We all have them.”

“Oh.” Bucky looked at Steve who nodded in confirmation despite the dopey, stupidly-in-love smile on his face that suggested he shouldn’t be capable of answering questions. “Thanks.” Bucky looked through the bag again. “I don’t need your money, though.”

“No one needs my money,” Tony rolled his eyes. “I barely need my money. But money helps when you’re on the run.”

“No, I know that. Obviously. I just mean I have money, so you don’t have to give me yours.”

“Well, you will have money once we find a way to get your Army backpay worked out the way we did for Steve, but for the time being — ”

“I have an offshore bank account with about seven million dollars in it,” Bucky said. 

Tony’s head jerked up in surprise. He looked at Steve, who looked just as perplexed and shocked, and then back at Bucky. 

“Huh,” Tony said. Then, because he was curious, “How’d that happen?”

“Figured HYDRA owed me at least that much for all the bullshit.” Bucky shrugged and stepped back again. “And I’m alright with computers, so. Took out a couple bases, moved some money around.” 

Tony laughed. “Alright then. I guess we know which of the super-soldiers got the tech-savvy serum now, don’t we?”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Not that I don’t appreciate the humor at my expense, but I’m not _that_ bad with computers.”

Tony smiled at him. “Honey, it’s really not that you’re _bad_ with computers. It’s just that you’re… not exceptionally great with them.”

Steve opened his mouth to reply, but he was cut off before he could get anything out. 

“Sir, Agent Romanoff is on her way back from her mission. You requested I alert you as soon as she was returning home.”

Tony froze. “Right, yeah. Um… J what are our chances of being able to reach her on a secure line?”

Tony shot Steve a meaningful look and Steve gave a clipped nod. They both understood the gravity of the situation. Neither of them knew the details, but they both knew that Natasha had a history with the Winter Solider, and it wasn’t one filled with fond memories.

More than that, they both knew if this came down to a ‘someone needs to leave’ situation, it absolutely was _not_ going to be Natasha. Tony wasn’t letting something he and Steve decided to do come between the other Avengers and their home. Tony already had a backup location in the works for him, Steve, and Bucky should they need it.

“I’d say about sixty-three percent,” JARVIS said, precise as always.

“Let’s send a message to her then. Ask her to call me or Steve on our usual numbers as soon as she has a chance. Non-emergent but time-sensitive.”

“The message has been sent.”

Natasha was smart. She would realize that Steve being reachable on his normal number meant he was home. It wouldn’t take much of a leap at that point for her to conclude Bucky was also back.

Steve looked at Tony, but before he could find a way to vocalize whatever he was turning around in his head, his phone started vibrating. 

Tony heard it, which meant everyone in the room heard it as well. That’s what happened when you spent time around people with enhanced super-senses. 

“I’ve got a plan B if she has a problem with it,” Tony said simply, eyes trained on Steve’s face carefully. “It’s going to be fine either way. So just… get her to be honest. See what she thinks.”

Steve nodded once. “Thank you, Tony,” he said, his voice nothing but sincere and his eyes soft and fond.

“Yeah, sure. Any time and all that.” He shooed Steve out of the room with his free hand while he continued scrolling through search results with the other. “Now, go. Talk to Nat.”

Steve took the stairs two at a time, answering the call softly enough that while Tony caught the greeting, he couldn’t hear anything beyond it.

“That was about me, wasn’t it,” Bucky said, more statement than question.

Tony didn’t miss a beat. There was no reason to lie. “Yeah.”

“I already told you, I’m not kicking anyone out of their home. Or making them uncomfortable here. I don’t want that.”

“I know. We don’t want that either. That’s why I said there’s a plan B already in the works.”

“Any chance it’s a plan B that doesn’t entirely uproot your lives?” Bucky asked sounding bone-tired in a way that meant he already knew the answer.

“It’s a plan B that Steve can live with,” Tony countered. “Isn’t that all that really matters?”

Bucky narrowed his eyes at Tony, an evaluative expression on his face. “You’re not some kind of self-sacrificing moron, are you?” he asked, his voice laced with distaste. 

Tony laughed a little. “You know, most people would think you’re hilarious for implying that I’m not the most self-centered person in the world.”

“Most people are idiots, in my experience.” Bucky stared at Tony with one eyebrow raised challengingly. “And Steve never would have chosen you if you were self-centered.”

Tony fought the urge to squirm. “Fair enough. But to answer your question, no. Not usually.” Tony chewed on the inside of his cheek a little. “When it comes to Steve? Yeah, maybe a little.” Tony shrugged. “Don’t know if you’ve ever been in love, but that kind of comes with the territory.”

Bucky crossed his arms in front of his chest and sighed. “So, what’s plan B?”

“There’s a secure Avengers facility upstate that’s being outfitted with more comfortable living quarters as we speak. No matter how this plays out, it won’t be a wasted investment.” Tony tapped away at his computer. “The team keeps growing. We’re going to need better training grounds soon enough.”

“How economical of you,” Bucky commented wryly. The humor reminded Tony so much of Steve that he smiled and shot Bucky a wink. 

“I try.” 

Bucky drummed the fingers of his right arm against his left bicep idly, drawing Tony’s attention to the intricate piece of technology he’d been dying to get his hands on for months now. “So…” Tony said in a terrible attempt at a segue. “Any chance you’ve changed your mind about the fine-ness of your arm in the past twelve hours or so since I last asked?”

Bucky’s face morphed into a cautious, guarded expression.

“My arm is fine.”

“Right, sure,” Tony said, trying not to look as desperate to learn about the thing as he was. “And I’m sure the lag isn’t a problem at all. Or the beat-up plates that have probably been fucked since your epic battle with our favorite all-American boy. None of that bothers you, right?”

“Nope. I’m good.”

Tony tried to come at things from Bucky’s perspective. Tried to see where he was coming from. It had to be terrible, Tony thought, to have something _attached to your body_ that you didn’t understand and had no way of repairing. That had to be miserable. 

After Afghanistan, Tony hadn’t been able to be close to anyone for a long time. The only person he’d let touch the arc reactor for _months_ had been Pepper. And only then because he needed her help and he trusted her implicitly. Everything else he’d done on his own, and he’d felt far more comfortable because of it.

Tony took another stab at the problem. 

“That answer stay the same if I tell you I might be able to help without ever touching the arm?”

“And how could you do that?” Bucky asked, his voice laced with skepticism. 

“Couple of ways. All the scans I’d need can be handled by JARVIS. As long as I can see what I’m dealing with, I don’t really need to do any of it myself. I’m great at giving instructions to third parties, just ask DUM-E,” Tony pointed to the bot by the wall who happily beeped and preened at being singled out. Bucky looked at the robot in shock, and Tony smiled a bit. That’s what he’d been going for; trying to put the soldier at ease in the workshop was a start. “Which means you could do it yourself. And if it’s something complex, or at an angle you can’t handle yourself, I’m sure Steve would help.” Tony realized that might sound like a bad idea, after their earlier conversation. “He’s not great with technology on his own, but he’s very good at following detailed instructions.”

Bucky snorted, but didn’t say anything. He seemed to get marginally less tense the longer Tony talked, so Tony decided to just go for broke.

“And I don’t know what your feelings are on robots, but I’ve kind of had the blueprints for an arm-repair bot bouncing around in my head since you got here. If it’s a trust thing, _you_ could build it. I could teach you. Coding and everything. If it’ll keep you from worrying that I’m out to get you.”

“I _know_ you’re not out to get me,” Bucky said with a sigh.

“I mean, subconsciously or whatever,” Tony said. “I just… look I get not wanting a stranger anywhere near you after what you’ve been through. I don’t know if you’ve taken the time to read up on me, but I’ve been there. And I’m also familiar with having a part of your body that’s supposed to make your life easier do the exact opposite. My arc reactor almost killed me once. So as long as you know me, I’m not going to be satisfied with your arm being ‘fine’ when it could be great. Or when it could be gone if that’s what you’d prefer.” Tony shrugged a little. “You have options, that’s all I’m saying. You don’t have to decide now, but you have options.”

Bucky stared at Tony for a long minute.

“Thanks,” he said finally. “I appreciate that. For now, um.” Bucky hesitated and Tony waited as patiently as he was able, which involved _some_ fidgeting but not much. “If I tell you to let JARVIS run the scan, will you be able to tell me if this thing is safe?” 

Tony narrowed his eyes in confusion and raised his eyebrows. “Safe how?”

“Safe for other people to be around. For all I know, HYRDA rigged it with a bomb in case I ever thought I’d be able to have something like a normal life.”

Tony paused. He thought about the interactions he’d had — however few there’d been — with Bucky over the hours he’d known him. The interactions he’d seen between Steve and Bucky, with the exception of yesterday’s (this morning’s?) hug. He thought about where Bucky was currently standing in the workshop more than ten feet away from Tony, and the space that he’d kept between himself and Steve before Nat’s phone call. 

A safe enough distance to maximize the chances of surviving a small explosion. 

An arm-sized bomb.

“ _Jesus Christ,_ ” Tony said, half gasping in shock and half pissed beyond belief. “Fucking hell, how long have you been worried that was a possibility?”

Bucky shrugged. “A while. It’s part of why I waited so long to stop running.”

“Right. You thought they were going to _blow you up,_ and your solution wasn’t to get help, but to make sure you were, what? Away from other people when it happened?” Tony hated HYDRA with a passion he didn’t know he’d previously possessed.

“Yeah. Especially away from people I care about.”

_Steve. Jesus._ Tony shoved his hand through his hair nervously.

“Well, I’m happy to inform you that JARVIS would have alerted us _immediately_ if you’d had a near-detonation bomb _attached to your person_. Or any sort of bomb for that matter. That’s part of the tower security protocol, you might say.” Tony grimaced. “Sorry. I wish you’d said something sooner so I could have at least put that fear to rest. But to answer your question, yes. Letting JARVIS run a few scans would probably tell us if there are any unpleasant surprises we need to know about.”

Bucky looked relieved.

“Okay then,” he said after a few seconds. “Let’s do that.”

“Sweet,” Tony said, though he was still mad enough that he was on the verge of shaking. _Fucking HYDRA._ “J, you heard the man. We’re running scans. I want as much information as we can get without having to take this thing apart, yeah?” By the end of his sentence, Tony was already tapping commands into his computer to gear up for the process.

It took him longer than it probably should have to look at Bucky and realize how nerve-wracking this entire process had to be.

“Here,” Tony said, getting up and walking around the work table to where Bucky’d been standing for almost all of the ten or so minutes he’d been in the workshop. “You might as well sit for a minute.” Tony dragged a chair over beside them and motioned for Bucky to sit. “Not because it’ll hurt or anything, but just because it’s going to take a bit for me to call up everything I want JARVIS scanning for.”

Bucky stared at him for a minute, and Tony wondered in the horrible, morbid part of his brain how _long_ it had been since Bucky had last allowed himself to just comfortably share the same space as another person.

His heart broke a little bit at the thought, especially when that line of thinking called up the memory of the way Bucky’s expression had shattered into a million pieces when Steve had hugged him. Like it was the first nonviolent touch he’d been on the receiving end of in seventy miserable fucking years. 

Bucky still hadn’t said anything or moved. 

Tony reached out to put his hand on Bucky’s arm without even thinking, and only aborted the motion at the very last second. He dropped his hand.

“Sorry,” he muttered and stepped back. “I said I didn’t have to touch you to help, and I meant that.”

Bucky smiled a little. “I know you did. And I appreciate that. But uh, most touch is fine now that I know I’m not going to accidentally kill you. Just um, no surprises? And maybe not actually working on the arm yet.” He grimaced like there were bad memories tied to the metal contraption he’d _thought might be a bomb attached to his body_ and yeah, Tony could understand that one.

Tony nodded seriously. “Okay. I can work with that.”

“But, really? Your plan for when I finally let you work on the arm was to just convince me to let _Steve_ do it? Are we talking about the same Steve? Because the Steve I know is pretty hopeless with technology and was using _paper maps_ to chase me around Europe. In 2014.”

Tony grimaced and let it bleed into a genuine laugh. 

“Well, Steve’s the only person in this tower you trust right now. So yeah, that was my plan. Tentatively. But only until I could convince you that that was a _really_ terrible plan.” He shook his head. “And I swear to god, I love that man but if I think too hard about the fact that he was using paper maps — yes, I know about that — instead of the GPS system I _designed for him_ I might have to reconsider our entire relationship. So please, spare me.”

Bucky laughed and sat down in the chair Tony had pulled over for him. 

* * *

Tony had just started the scan of Bucky’s arm when Steve came back down to the workshop.

He still had the phone pressed to his ear, but he was focused on Tony. 

“Nat wants to talk to you,” he said. He wrinkled his nose a bit and pulled the phone away from his ear. “She’s threatening bodily harm if she doesn’t get to talk to you, specifically.”

“Um…” Tony reached for the phone. “Okay? I wasn’t going to tell her no?”

“She was threatening _me,_ not you.”

“What?” Tony was a little alarmed. Nat’s threats weren’t something to take lightly, and less so when she was threatening _Steve._ He put out his hand and made a grabby motion. “Well, give her here.”

“Gladly.”

Steve didn’t look as worried as he should, in Tony’s opinion. He pressed the phone to his ear.

“Hello? Nat? What’s going on?”

“Are you alone?”

“No,” Tony looked over at Steve, who was looking at Bucky, who was sitting perfectly still as JARVIS ran the scans. “Not exactly.”

“Go somewhere else.”

“Is this necessary?” 

Natasha didn’t bother dignifying that with a response. Tony sighed. He pressed the phone to his chest to cover the microphone. 

“J, can we put a temporary pause on the scans? I have to take care of something real quick, and I don’t want to run them when I’m not here.”

It wouldn’t really be a problem, but Tony was working on building trust. Best to be clear and upfront about what he was having JARVIS do. Tony stepped around the work counter and looked from Steve to Bucky. 

“Can you two hang here for five minutes?” he asked. 

Bucky nodded jerkily and Steve shrugged.

Tony pressed a kiss to Steve’s cheek lightning fast, and turned to put his hand — intentionally feather-light — on Bucky’s non-metal shoulder. 

“You can relax,” he said and went for the stairs without looking back. When he reached the top of the staircase, he went straight for his and Steve’s room.

“Okay, I’m alone now.”

“Thanks,” Nat said, her tone startlingly genuine. “This is important.”

“Sure. What’s up?” 

“Tony, do you want him there?”

“What?”

“Do you want Barnes there? Be honest with me. I’ll know if you’re lying.”

Well, that was pretty much a given.

“Yeah, I want him here. It’s all good.”

“You can say no. You don’t have to do this for Steve. I’ll tell him I don’t want to share my home with a guy who shot me. Steve will respect that. He doesn’t have to know it’s you.”

Tony snorted. “Nat, _Clint_ shot you once.”

“That’s different. It was an accident. And we don’t speak of that.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Right, clearly.”

“Tony, I’m serious.”

“So am I!” Tony snapped, his tone a little more forceful than he would ordinarily use on Nat. He regretted it immediately and deflated. “Sorry, I just wish people would start believing me when I say I’m fine with this. Honestly.”

“Who else questioned you on this?” she sounded honestly curious. 

“Bucky.” Silence. A long, patient silence that Tony knew he’d have to be the one to break because this was Nat. Tony sighed. “He got here yesterday. Steve and Sam were still in Ukraine. He asked me if I wanted him to disappear. He meant it. If I’d said I wanted him out of my life that would have been it. I said I didn’t. So. That’s that.”

Nat stayed silent for a minute longer. “He really did that?” 

“Yeah. And he’s a good man who was forced to do terrible things,” Tony said. He sounded tired and sad. “He deserves the help.”

“That might be true,” Nat agreed readily. “Doesn’t mean that help has to come from you.”

“Nat, who is going to understand what he’s been through better than people like us?” Tony shrugged even though Nat couldn’t see it. “I think you’ll see what I mean when you meet him. He’s… he’s one of us, you know? I know it sounds cheesy, but I know this is where he’s supposed to be.” 

You’re sure?”

“I’m sure. If you don’t want him here, I’ll respect that. I get it. You deserve to feel safe in your home. But I genuinely don’t think he’s a threat. So don’t say no on my behalf.”

“I already gave Steve a tentative yes,” Nat said. “But I wanted to check in with you.”

Tony smiled a little. He loved Nat. He really did. “Thanks, Nat.”

“Of course. It’s what I’m here for. I’ll be home tomorrow.”

“Perfect. Can’t wait. We’ll do movie night.”

“Sounds good.”

She hung up, and Tony took the stairs back down at a brisk pace so  he could pick up where he left off.

“Okay, Nat is on her way home,” Tony said, waving the phone in Steve’s general direction until he took it, smiling a little. Tony returned the smile easily and turned to focus on Bucky again. “Now, where were we?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... what do you think? Tell me everything! Do you like the way I've written Bucky? Did you enjoy the Stony fluff at the top? How about that precious moment with Nat looking out for Tony? 
> 
> I'd love to hear any and all of your thoughts, so please don't hesitate to share. And thank you so much for reading <3!


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